10 Pitt-Bradford students presented at the Regional Science Consortium

Students and faculty from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford attended and presented their research this week at the Regional Science Consortium held at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Students presenters included:

• Kenneth Alford, a mechanical engineering major from Braddock, Pennsylvania
• Thomas Burk, a physical sciences major from Greencastle, Pennsylvania
• Dylan Crawford, a pre-dental student from Olean, New York
• Kaua Dos Santos Da Silva, a biology major from Williamsville, New York
• Madhav Ellini, a pre-medicine student from Bradford, Pennsylvania
• Cassidy Elton, a chemistry major from Landenberg, Pennsylvania
• Madison Foote, a biology major from Titusville, Pennsylvania
• Ridge Gray, a biology major from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
• Peyton Haight, a pre-pharmacy student from Bradford, Pennsylvania
• Isaias Sanchez, a biology major from Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania

Faculty presenters were Assistant Professor of Biology Oluwabunmi P. Femi-Oloye, laboratory administrator Melissa Odorisio and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Femi Oloye, who also served as a session chair.

Crawford, Dos Santos Da Silva, Ellini, Haight and Oloye presented a hands-on project, through which they learned how chemists make new compounds and use modern instruments to identify and study them. The students, who are in Oloye’s organic chemistry II class, created and tested isoamyl acetate, the chemical that gives bananas their smell.

Burk, Elton and Oloye presented on how light and natural materials can help break down pollutants like dyes and antibiotics in water. Their research explored using sunlight and plant-based catalysts to clean up mixtures of contaminants more efficiently and in environmentally friendly ways.

Alford, Ellini, Gray and Odorisio, along with Femi-Oloye and Oloye, presented an assessment of the quality of natural spring water in McKean County, Pennsylvania. Students found differences in water quality from place to place and signs of microbial growth within delivery pipes, showing why it’s important to regularly check and protect rural water sources.

Foote, who swims on Pitt-Bradford’s team, and Femi-Oloye studied how bacteria grew in damp swim bags over the course of a swim season. By tracking bacterial growth at various times, she hopes to learn whether swim bags can become reservoirs for germs and how regular cleaning can help keep athletes healthy.

Finally, Sanchez and Femi-Oloye investigated mold levels in several campus buildings to better understand how moisture and air quality affect its growth. His research also tests ways to reduce mold and improve indoor air, helping make campus spaces healthier and safer.